United Methodist Church Mission in Senegal, West Africa  








News (as of July 7, 2007)
 7 July 2007More About the Ordination of UMC Pastors
19 June 2007Ordination of First UMC Pastors in Senegal

More About the Ordination of UMC Pastors


Ordination of June 19, 2007
From left to the right: Dembo DIATTA, Joseph BLECK, Antoine NDECKY, Jean Pierre NDOUR, Dibor Fatou NDOUR, Jean Noël DIOUF, Bishop Benjamin BONI, Léon Mbu KITETE, Mission superintendent Nkemba NDJUNGU, Valentin Bayemon ILOGA, and Jérôme BAKO		 The United Methodist Church in Senegal has obtained its first ordained ministers on Saturday, June 17, 2007. Ordination service was conducted by Bishop Benjamin Boni, Resident Bishop of the Cote d'Ivoire Annual Conference who is also the supervisor of the Senegal Mission of GBGM. Names of these new ordained pastors are:
  1. Antoine Ndecky
  2. Dembo Diatta
  3. Dibor Fatou Ndour
  4. Jean Pierre Ndour
  5. Jerome Bako
  6. Joseph Bleck
  7. Leon Mbu Kitete
  8. Valentin Iloga Bayemon
Another pastor, Jean Noel Diouf, a Senegalese who was ordained in the Methodist Church of Ghana in 2005 by Bishop Nuh Ben Abubekr of the Kumasi Diocese, was received as an elder in the UMC Senegal after viewing his ordination documents and transfer. Therefore the Senegal Mission has now nine ordained ministers under the Rev. Nkemba Ndjungu, the Mission Superintendent.

It is important to stress that among these new ordained pastors, one is a female: Dibor Fatou Ndour. She is the first Senegalese woman to be ever ordained as a pastor. The Senegalese society is making lot of effort to promote women - the Prime Minister in 2003 was a woman - but never before has a woman been ordained as a pastor. We praise the Lord for that!

Three other local pastors were approved for ordination next year. Those are:

  1. Emmanuel Diouf
  2. Etienne Djilene Dione
  3. Gabriel S. Wenda
Before ordination service these new pastors were interviewed by a Special Board for Ordination in Senegal presided by Bishop Boni himself. The other members of this special board for ordination were:
  1. Rev Isaac Agree (Cote d'Ivoire)
  2. Rev. Philippe Adjobi (Cote d'Ivoire)
  3. Dr. Patrick Friday (GBGM-USA)
  4. Dr. Ellis Larsen (GBHEM-USA)
  5. Dr. William Lowel (GBHEM-USA)
  6. Rev. Nkemba Ndjungu (Mission Superintendent of Senegal)
All Mission gifts to be sent to the Advance Numbers:
12594ASenegal Initiative
14518AChurch Construction
14519NChristian Education
14520AChurch Development
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First Pastors Ordained June 19, 2007

 The culmination of three years of study and examinations came on June 19, 2007 for eight lay pastors who were ordained as pastors in the United Methodist Church. The ceremony was preceded by testimonial witnessing and services of thanksgiving. The ordination service itself included youth group praise dancing and traditonal native dance by the United Methodist Women.

Those ordained were: Jerome Bako, Joseph Bleck, Dembo Diatta, Valentin Iloga, Leon Mbu Kitete, Antoine Ndecky, Jean Pierre Ndour, and Dibor Fatou Ndour. Dibor Fatou is the first woman ordained as a pastor in Senegal in any Christian denomination.


Testimonial service led by Rev. Nkemba Ndjungu
The United Methodist Women placing a ceremonial carpet before the precession

The candidates for ordination entering the service
The youth celebrating with praise dancing

Altar prayer for the candidates
The newly-ordained pastors are presented to the congregation
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©Copyright 2007 The United Methodist Church